It was a little difficult for me to compose a blogpost mainly about happiness because I don’t believe in chasing it. This might seem ironic coming from the publisher of a website called happychild. But happiness is just one of many rich feelings that give me, and I think most people, a feeling of humanity and a sense of living a full and meaningful life. When happiness is absent in our daily lives or is fleeting, that’s a sign that something is more seriously wrong – and it’s the time to get support from experts, not the time to chase happiness. Because if you run after happiness you may never catch it. Read full article
Yesterday when I picked up the little travelers from school, Henry Hotdog's kindergarten teacher had something to tell me. "You have to tell your Mummy about the poem you wrote today Henry - can you tell her?" The hotdog considered the proposal for a moment and then proceeded to pull my head down towards his. In my ear he whispered ... Read full article
This week we will commemorate Anzac Day and remember those thousands of young soldiers whose bravery defined a nation. Young boys who left their shores, many never to return, forever remembered as heroes. I asked my children (9 and 7 years) about their heroes. I cringed at the anticipation of hearing names more notorious than heroic, more infamous than illustrious, more TV show than book cover. Pleasantly, I heard back – “Mum and Dad,” “my family,” “my teacher “, “zoo keeper,” and “J.K. Rowling”. Not a mention of One Direction! Happy with that! Read full article
Scanning the news this morning I came across a very sad article about a 36 year old single mum who suddenly died during an epileptic seizure in Wagga Wagga, leaving her two year old daughter alone in the house. Miraculously, the two year old survived for about five days until a church pastor decided to check on the small family and found the daughter near to death herself. ...Sometimes life throws you a clue to make a change. Read full article
Thanks to happychild blogger Carol Duncan for leading us to this wonderful 10 minute video about a nine year old boy, Caine, who built a games arcade out of cardboard boxes. He gets a huge surprise when an adult arranges, via social media, for a lot of eager customers. A fun and inspiring ten minutes for adults and children about play, creativity, vision and social media. Read full article
I do believe I’ve cracked the ‘kids and chores’ code. This week, we played a game that I made up (as you’d be able to tell) called ‘Quick! The Queen is coming!' Here’s how it goes ... Read full article
Unstructured, unsupervised fun could be more beneficial for your child's future than you realise. Parents are feeling they need to provide an array of structured and adult-directed activities to raise smarter children...but it is also backfiring as children are not being given the freedom to develop their own interests and creativity. Read full article
You absolutely must stop for half an hour and watch this movie - after watching, I am sure you will want to take some action. If you care for children, for humanity, please take some time this week and educate yourself about the atrocities being committed against children, formerly in Uganda, and possibly in other areas in Africa. Jason Russell, father of young son Gavin, who also stars in this video, has created an extraordinary film about a man called Joseph Kony, a criminal - the film is called: Kony 2012. It is by Invisible Children. Also read the debate about the film. Read full article
In a way I talk to my friends more than ever: Facebook, Twitter, text messages and email mean it’s easy to communicate with them. I can show all my friends what’s happening in my life with a quick status update and a photo, and they can do the same. I can show them I’m thinking of them by writing on their wall or ‘liking’ their status. We get to know the facts of each other’s lives ... But sometimes knowing these facts feels lonelier than ever. Read full article
We had to share this one: Birke Baehr is 11 years old and speaks with passion and humour about local and organic food farming - at a TedX event. a great video to show your children - not just because of the worthy content - but because he's a great example of an accomplished public speaker, and because he seems to have found a passion at an early age. Read full article
